James Szykman 

More than 4 in 10 people in the U.S. live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the American Lung Association. 

The 2023 launch of NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of POllution satellite or TEMPO fulfilled a decades-long vision by providing revolutionary data that is transforming our understanding and prediction of air quality and physical effects on climate. 

Its rapid success and incorporation into air quality research is due in large part to James Szykman, a senior research engineer at the  Environmental Protection Agency, who led years of preparatory on-the-ground work to ensure the new data delivered by TEMPO could properly inform air quality management at the federal, state and local level to meaningfully address air pollution.  

Since 1999, Szykman has been on assignment at NASA’s Langley Research Center with a focus on building stronger and more efficient science collaborations between EPA and NASA. Working closely with NASA scientists, he has successfully developed a seamless connection to translate satellite data into the agency’s air quality research and results that can be applied to all levels of government as well as commercial industry. 

“The public might see a photo from space and think, ‘Now we have more information,’ but it takes immense work to create systems on the ground that can verify that data and translate it into actionable insights,” said James Crawford, a senior NASA scientist. “James brings a perspective that we at NASA don’t have and it has helped us provide the right data to the right groups to address air pollution.” 

Earlier in his career, Szykman developed the Remote Sensing Information Gateway (RSIG), an integrated tool that gives air quality professionals, modelers and researchers near-instant access to specific subsets of environmental data pertinent to their needs. This replaced a largely manual process that required users to download vast amounts of data and parse it themselves, which could take months. With RSIG, users can access the data they need in minutes.  

RSIG transformed access to geospatial air quality data across the federal, state and local levels and continues to expand to include datasets as new satellites are launched—including TEMPO.  

“It’s a heavy lift to get the raw data from NASA repositories,” explained Joel Dreessen, a senior meteorologist with the Maryland Department of the Environment, one of Szykman’s state agency partners. “RSIG has simplified that work for state agencies, which gives operational and research communities quick and easy access to TEMPO data and enables better connections to real-world decisions.” 

In preparation for TEMPO’s launch, Szykman worked with scientists at NASA and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory to guide a strategy that more effectively assesses the quality of TEMPO data. He worked with more than 15 state and local agencies across the nation to create a more comprehensive network of ground-based spectrometers at air quality monitoring sites, which enabled a new paradigm to validate the data coming in from the satellite. 

These spectrometers measure pollution from the ground up through the atmosphere, which is then compared to the pollutant measurements collected from the satellite. This approach, which led to a new science paradigm at EPA, validated TEMPO’s data within two years. And with state and local agencies already involved, the data was better prepared to be shared and used effectively across all levels of government.  

“The involvement of these agencies ensures that the data is more than just ‘interesting science,’” explains Szykman. “It enables the generation of a high-utility satellite dataset that supports their core mission to protect public health.” 

With the groundbreaking datasets from TEMPO, new frameworks to address air pollution can be developed, state and local leaders can better invest federal funding to improve air quality, and the American public has increased visibility into the health of their communities. 

Szykman’s early collaborative projects with NASA utilized near-real-time data from the MODIS satellite instruments to provide enhanced information on fine particulate matter air pollution. These measurements were used to inform the air quality index found on weather apps and cell phones, providing more accurate and up-to-date air quality measurements that help those with immuno-compromised systems protect themselves. 

Szykman recognizes his role is unique and appreciates how it has allowed him to serve the public. 

“When I began working more directly with NASA, I realized my EPA expertise could help bridge a critical gap to make our collective output far more effective,” said Szykman. “Ultimately, my public service has been a commitment to being the connective tissue between scientific discovery and public health protection.”